It makes your business look more professional. Just this morning I contacted an independent contractor with a Hotmail email address. I have to admit, just based on that address I had second thoughts about the person. How up-to-date could they be with an email address from 1998?

It inspires trust. Using an AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail address puts your credibility at risk when you email someone you don’t know yet, such as prospects or referrals. After all, anybody can set up one of those email addresses for free in 10 seconds. How do recipients know you’re really who you say you are?

It makes your business look bigger. When you use an AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail account to send business email, you look like a single individual rather than a business. But with a custom email address for your business, you can create email addresses for different “divisions,” such as billing@thebikeshop.com, sales@thebikeshop.com or info@thebikeshop.com. (No one has to know that you’re the only employee and the one answering all of those emails!)

It’s portable. Suppose you decide to give up Hotmail and switch to Gmail (at least it’s more current, right?). You will have to change your email address and notify every one of your customers, vendors and associates. Chances are many of them won’t get the notification, won’t pay attention or won’t bother to update your information. When you have your own custom email, you can switch Web hosts and still keep your email the same.

It improves email deliverability and results. Emails sent from free email provider domains are more likely to get blocked as spam (notice how your junk email usually comes from accounts like steve578@yahoo.com?) Plus, when recipients see your company’s domain as the sender, they’ll immediately recognize the email is from you—making it more likely to get opened and acted on.

Getting a custom email address is simple; your Web host can provide you one and show you how to administer it. Look for a company that provides unlimited email addresses on a domain so your business can grow as big as it needs to.

Want more assistance growing your business online? Join the Web.com Small Business Forum for free access to our library of ebooks, the latest industry news and support from other business owners, entrepreneurs and working professionals. Join a Group to ask questions, share your opinions and grow your network! Visit Web.com to learn about our full range of affordable website design and online marketing services.

Rieva Lesonsky

Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Email Rieva at rieva@smallbizdaily.com, follow her on Google+ and Twitter.com/Rieva, and visit her website, SmallBizDaily.com, to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva’s free TrendCast reports.

Register For This Site

A password will be e-mailed to you.

Username

E-mail

Business Name

Email Address

Password

Confirm Password

The Small Business Forum will use information from your LinkedIn or Facebook profile (including your name, email, and thumbnail photo) to more easily set up your account and to send you information from time to time about products, events and offers from the Small Business Forum.